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I was very surprised to see an Oud Beersel product on tap. Aren't they supposed to be out of business? After doing some digging I confirmed that this was indeed an Oud Beersel brew, although it is nothing at all like the Oude Kriek Vieille I am used to. This cherry geuze resembles the kriek lambics of Lindeman's or St. Louis more then it does the wonderful sour in your face monsters of Oud Beersel's past. Perhaps this brew is being produced by another brewer while Oud Beersel gets back up and running.

Appearance: Deep pink-violet, thick pink head. Champaign carbonation.

Aroma: Sweet and tart cherries. Cherry cough syrup. Lemons. Funk? no.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Cherry cough syrup. Sweet front and middle. Slightly dry tart finish similar to cherry pie filling with a spritz of lemon and a dash of cinnamon kicked in. Very medicinal.

This beer can be wrapped up in one word: cherry. It smelled like cherry juice and tasted likewise.However, it wasn't visited by the Kool-Aid Man (oh yeah!); rather, the cherry lingers pretty gently- no over-sugared Red Dye # 5 concotion here. I was expecting sour when I first sipped it, but was surprised by a slight sweetness. The cherry overtakes the drink, but I'm not complaining. It even looks like cherry juice in the glass, with only a slight lace resting on top for a head after the first pour. As a fan of lambics, I enjoyed this brew and would go for another round.

Smell: Snappy tartness is strong in the nose with hints of sour cherries, a bit musty and earthy from the yeast also in the aroma.

Taste: Full smack of tartness hits the palate hard, carbonation is unbelievably refreshing with a well textured crispness. Cheery flavours come through right after the wave of tartness starts to settle. Slight musty barn yard flavour peeks in for a brief moment with a powdery earthy yeast flavour. Alcohol is a touch warming in the back with subtle esters. An underlying grain flavour tells the taste buds that this is indeed a beer. Puckering tartness makes way for the dry finish.

Notes: Some like their fruit lambics sweet, this lambic is brewed with sugar but it seems virtually all of the sugars were fermented out leaving it tart and dry. This is the way I like my lambics.

$4.60 for this 12.7 oz, green, corked and caged bottle at Wines of Distinction, in Abingdon, Virginia. Pours into a tulip glass a clear, cranberry body with a short lived, pinkish/ivory head that quickly falls into a collar of lace. No other lacing. A few suspended particles that, initially, appeared to be yeast "floaties" turned out to be small, pieces of red cherries. Interesting!

Aroma is different from any Kriek I've sampled. I was expecting lots of fresh cherry aromas, but, instead, got slapped in the nose by a tart, sour, acidic, fruitiness that was more balsamic, than cherry. Cherries are definitely in the background, but aren't the major component here. This seems more like a straight gueze than a cherry lambic. I guess I'm used to Lindemans Kriek, and this one is a major departure. The taste is dry, vinous, slightly astringent, and somewhat balsamic. Very sour!

Even the mouthfeel is sour. Very sour! Light bodied, overall, with medium carbonation.

I must confess my lack of familiarity with this style. I enjoyed a few Krieks on visits to Belgium, and the Netherlands, several years ago, enjoyed them, but had no interest in taking notes or learning about the esoterics of the style. I don't intend to disparage this one, simply because I'm now more accustomed to the sweeter Krieks. In fact, I enjoyed this one quite a bit. My personal preference is for a Kriek to have a dominant cherry personality, which this one lacks. Still, this one is nicely complex, and highly drinkable. Obviously, this is a high quality lambic. Just not your average Kriek.

2006 bottling with a best by date of 4/4/2026. The beer pours a reddish-brown color with a large white head. The aroma is very tart with notes of cherries, oak and vanilla. This is what a fruit lambic is supposed to smell like. The flavor is heavy on the tart cherries with some oak notes. The oak character is pretty strong. Low carbonation and medium mouthfeel. The four years of age on this beer really made it shine and turned it into something special.

Luscious red with a pink head. Good cherry tart and sour aroma, wood plays second fiddle.

Expansive sour, fruit seems very fresh for being out of bottle, almost pie like, sour comes back, compliments the fruit, easily overwhelmed my expectations. Mild funkiness, sour still dominating. Dry. Not balanced, but the sweetness from the cherry pie filling like flavor melded well with the sour aspect. Had this at the end of my day at sour fest, and it really stood tall. Carbonation was spot on. Acidity was just right as well. Might even be some lemon there to help amp up the tartness, just the slightest amount of woodyness to it.

Would buy next time I come across it in the bottle. $10 a 375 seems worth it.

Appearance: Ruby red body pink finely carbonated head leaves behind thick patches of lace nice appearance. Aroma: Black tart cherries very acidic in nature with some cherry sweetness as well, pleasant yeast note as well brings a bready subtle tone to the table. Taste: Extremely tart blend of cherries, touch of cask aged notes excellent traditional lambic, not as lip puckering as a Cantillon but tart nonetheless. Mouthfeel: Lighter bodied effervescent bubbly texture. Drinkability: Nice all around traditional fruit lambi, excellent stuff and damn affordable around 4 dollars not bad at all. This is a drinkable lambic I love the complexity of a Cantillon and the candy like sweetness of a Lindemann's but this one has a balance that I just find more palatable and consumeable for session drinking.

Pours a slightly hazy purplish-red color with a half-finger light red head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of good amounts of funk with solid amounts of tart cherry aromas. Hints of earthiness come into play more as the beer warms.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Large amounts of funk with moderate amounts of mildly sweet cherry flavors kick things off. Midway through the sip the cherry flavors turn tart and carry through to a crisp ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with active carbonation.

Drinkability is also good. I finished my glass without a problem and could have another.

Overall this was a nicely done kriek - the funk was at a good level and the cherry flavors were a nice mix of tart and sweet.

Along with the Beersel Oude Gueuze, this is great for its style (in this case a fruit- cherry- lambic). Gets it spot on. Stinky barnyard nose (which i like) Earthy, dry, acidic, sour, grassy, refreshing and just the right amount of cherry flavour to keep you interested, and it ain't sweet which is good, world class kriek-lambic, a must try.

A- This beer pours a deep auburn red clear but dense body that has thin strands of bubbles gliding to the surface. The thick creamy head takes up over half the glass but turns to a strawberry red rocky layer after a bit.

S- This beer has a bold smell of bright cherries, aged brie rind and a note of damp basement. The cherries have a fresh sweet cherry smell but the overall smell is not sweet.

T- The taste of bright tart fresh red cherries has a big flavor of sweet cherry jam without the sweetness. Like Maraschino cherry flavor comes through with a soft cola note and hints of wet wood in the background. There is a tart bite at the finish that leaves a slight tomato juice acid taste hanging on after each sip.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a smooth astringent bite but it doesn't make the jaws lock up. There is a tiny fizz in the finish that comes through when it warms a bit.

D- This beer has great cherry presents and a nice tartness with some supporting flavors. It will be interesting to taste this at year 2025 to compare.